Sunday, April 5, 2009

Vietnam has unexpectedly taken first place as the best adventure travel trip I’ve ever taken.  Funny, considering that up until a couple months before my Around the World departure, Vietnam had no business being on my list of countries.  It wasn’t until an episode of Top Gear, a British TV show featuring vehicles, that I was inspired to do a motorcycle tour of the country.  As Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear puts it best, “To a whole generation, Vietnam is a war, not a country.”  This was proven true when I made a journal entry of my preconceptions and knowledge of the country prior to arrival.  I was ashamed that I knew very little of the place aside from the war, the occasional Pho noodle soup dish, the Vietnamese sandwiches I enjoy, and the Vietnamese ladies that are usually working at nail salons.  I had a lot to learn about the country, and boy, did I learn.

My enjoyment here can be attributed to several factors – a mix of beautiful natural sites, a focus on my favorite hobby of late – motorcycling, great company, and a great tour.  Motorbikes, in my opinion, are the best way to see the country, as it allows one access to backroads that a bus wouldn’t be able to take, allows flexibility for stops as one chooses, and allows one to truly enjoy the spectacular roads that the country hosts.  Our tour company provided us with Russian Minsk bikes that leant to our adventure, in that, they constantly broke.  As our guide, Ken, put it, “Russian bikes are good for style but bad for reliability.”  According to Top Gear, these bikes are seen in places where the Taleban use them with an AK-47 in hand.  It’s able to take tough terrain and falls, assuming that you’re able to get the kick start to work and get the engine running.  Once you do, they’re great fun.

The tour itself was designed extremely well with a great balance of history, cultural knowledge, great riding, and free time to explore.  We spent the first day in Hanoi visiting Ho Chi Minh’s governmental house, the museum dedicated to his memory, and the Museum of Ethnology, where we learned of the different minority cultures that we’d see on the road.  Ho Chi Minh has always been taught in the US to be the leader of the opposing side in the Vietnam War, so it was interesting to learn of how revered he is here in Vietnam.  I was impressed to learn that age 21, he took off to work his way around the world and didn’t return until 30 years later.  Along the way, he visited several Asian countries, the US, several countries in Europe, and of course, Russia, where he was inspired by Lenin.  Above all, he wanted a country free from foreign control – the French.  In 1954, the Vietnamese succeeded in gaining independence.  He inspired a nation with his desire for peace and freedom for his sons and daughters of Vietnam.  Quite a different man than I expected to learn about.

In Hanoi, we got to visit the old quarters on a cyclo tour, then saw a traditional water puppet show.  We were treated to a nice hotel, which was much appreciated considering the tough journey ahead.  My first few days in Vietnam were spoiled ones, during which I never saw a squatter toilet.  But that was short-lived.

Day 1

What an amazing first day of riding!  We left Hanoi in the morning and had to get through city traffic.  Hanoi is a sea of motorbikes, where we quickly learned that aggressive racing mentality is the best way to survive.  Push your way through with determination and you will make it.  Show your weakness and you’ll likely get stuck.  It’s quite slow riding so if someone cuts in front, it’s easy to adjust and get around.

I was a bit frustrated with the initial road out to the countryside.  It was extremely dusty and at the slow pace that Ken was setting, we were constantly getting passed by trucks and cars.  Each vehicle finds the need to honk the living shits out of their horn, so we were constantly bombarded with honking.

After a couple hours of riding, we finally hit some mountains and the scenery became a lush green.  We passed several villages and rice paddies, reminding us that we were indeed in a very different place than back home.  Finally at the top of the mountain, Ken pointed out the village below where we would be staying – Mai Chau.  We would be staying in a traditional Thai stilt house in the countryside.

Day 2

The next day, we left behind the Thai village and passed by several more authentic (read: less Tourist) Thai towns.  This required us to hit the dirt roads – a first for me on the bike, which I absolutely loved!  We later stopped by the birth town of Ho Chi Minh, a small country town.  

We had a long distance to go, with the second day being the longest riding accompanied by huge rain clouds that poured down on us in the afternoon.  It was challenging to stay on the bike for so long and we were extremely happy to reach our hotel in a town I can’t remember.  We were truly in the countryside, hitting up towns where there were no foreigners around, no English spoken, and where people were extremely curious about the three Minsk riders with full gear and a full faced helmet.

Day 3

The third day, Ken was kind enough to find small backroads for us to ride, going between rice fields that stretched out for miles.  We had the busy task of dodging cows, buffalos, chicken, ducks, dogs, and more scary, the mounds of cow excrement that were on the road.  It was exciting to go through the dirt roads and see the country life of the Vietnamese.  A true adventure, in my mind.  That evening, we arrived in another small town where we set out to find internet.  We had no luck but after asking two women in a shop, one rode up next to us and led us to her house.  Her 16 year old son spoke excellent English and judging from his computer, he was extremely computer literate.  They invited us into their home to use the computer, a generous
offer that just shows the friendliness that one can find out in the world.

Day 4

The fourth day started out rainy and stayed that way.  I was miserable with soaked jeans and a poncho that did very little, but through the misery, I was able to see that Vietnam has some excellent mountain roads with great surface quality.  These roads stretch on for miles and miles (or kilometer after kilometer) and would be perfect for long drives, assuming one watches out for the cows crossing the road, the villagers walking on the side, and avoids the mounds of poop.  My biggest fear riding was not that I would fall and get hurt; it was that I’d fall and tumble on a piece of poop, smearing it into my clothing.  A fall is bad enough, but a fall into crap is worse.

Ken’s bike died that day and we spent a lot of time at the road side waiting as he used his amazing mechanic skills to bring life back into those little commie bikes.  This wasn’t the first breakdown – we’d had about one major breakdown a day.  From this, we realized that it would have been impossible for us to have done this without a tour company, since Ken served as our navigator, our mechanic, our translator, and our historian.

The evening ended in another country town where we spotted a few foreigners.   We were blessed with a nice hotel without bugs in the bathroom and clean sheets.  After dinner, we passed by a dessert shop and helped us to some delightful cakes.

Day 5

The fifth day was a day of learning about the War history.  We finally crossed the bridge into the South; it had separated the South and North of Vietnam during the war.  As we were heading back to our bikes from a photo session, an elderly, weathered-looking man approached us on a bike, saying something in Vietnamese to Ken.  Ken immediately walked over to the gentleman and shook his hand.  He translated as the man began to tell us his story.  He had fought as part of the Vietcong during the war, had been shot a couple times in the back, and had shrapnel take a huge chunk out of his leg at one point.  He had a girlfriend during the war who was killed during an attack.  To this day, he honours her on the every anniversary of her death.  It just goes to show that in a war, it doesn’t matter who wins in the end – both sides have losses.  His eyes showed the pain he experienced during his lifetime, as he often spoke to me, assuming that I was Vietnamese (a common occurrence for me).

After leaving the Vietcong man’s company, we headed to a Truong Son National Cemetery where 10,000 soldiers’ bodies are buried from the War.  Another reminder of the losses experienced by both sides during the war.

Day 6

We hit up Highway 9 in Vietnam and headed up a long windy mountain road to what was once the Khe Sanh Base.  This was once a very important American military base that was eventually taken over by the North.  We were able to walk through a museum with several pictures of the base during the days of the American, see guns and ammunition from the war, and even helicopters with US ARMY on the wings – left behind once the North took the base.  Our museum guide was able to tell us about his experiences growing up around the area.

One of the worst things the Americans did during the war was to drop cluster bombs throughout the countryside.  Cluster bombs, which the Vietnamese called Orange Fruit bomb for its shape similar to an orange, were dropped in a large ‘Mother’ bomb.  As the Mother bomb opened, the cluster bombs would scattered across the area, some exploding upon impact, shooting out shrapnel to do as much damage as possible to any humans around.  The worst were the ones that didn’t impact and were eventually left throughout the countryside after the war in both Vietnam and Laos.  (Yes, America did also bomb Laos during the War, since the Ho Chi Minh trail went through the country to supply the Northern troops).  The War left both countries scarred with unexploded cluster bombs that farmers would come across unexpectedly.  The museum guide was taught as a child that if you were to ever walk and step on a metal piece that clicked, you would have to stay on the metal piece, stay calm, then attempt to pick up the bomb (still compressed), then throw it far from you.  Many villagers were not so lucky and have become victims of the cluster bombs after the War ended.  

The remainder of the ride was extremely fun, passing through the region right next to Laos, which could be seen across the river.  The villagers of the area were instantly noticeable as another ethnic minority – the Pa Co.  These people migrated from the area near Indonesia and had features extremely different from the Vietnamese, with darker skin.  Kids would run out to the side of the road when hearing our two-stroke engines and wave excitedly as we passed by in a cloud of blue smoke.  Yes, if you’re thinking we were burning oil, you’re right.  The two-stroke Minsk bikes require that a mixture of gasoline and oil be put into the tank, thus causing the blue colouring.  We had a grand time during the ride waving to all the villagers, all very curious to see us ride through.  We stopped at a tiny town and stayed the night at a guesthouse.

Day 7

This was the last day of full riding and man, was it spectacular.  We spent most of the day riding through mountain roads surrounded by lush green forests and jungle.  It was both foggy and rainy, causing a mystical feel to our adventure.

At this time, I realized just how amazing a trip this truly was.  It had been a difficult trip overall, with long hours in the seat, no regular toilets along the road, several breakdowns of the bikes, and lots of rainy weather.  But it was truly an adventure.  It was definitely the best trip I’ve ever taken to date.

We arrived in Hoi An around 6, which was rather late considering our 9 AM start that day.  Ken must have been rushed to get us to the destination – he broke from his normally ‘safe’ riding pace and lead us scrambling through crazy towns full of traffic, school children on bikes, and general chaos of buses and vans bullying their way through the roads.  It takes a crazy person to love the aggressive riding but we kept up well and enjoyed it.

Hoi An

Hoi An was a pleasant surprise as the last town on our itinerary.  We had the evening and following day completely free.  The town is known for its tailors and its quaint historical old quarters.  Somehow, I ended up with 4 dresses tailored to me personally and with fabrics that I chose.  

We spent the Saturday searching for the famous Hai Van Pass that was declared as one of the best coastal roads in the world on Top Gear.  Fearing that our Minsks would never make the ride without a mechanic, we rented 4-stroke scooters.  We rode a couple hours to find the mountain road and found it to be a fun ride.  I have to say that most of the mountain roads enjoyed during the overall trip were superior in quality, but it was still a lot of fun.

We spent the rest of our time relaxing in the ‘resort’ that was certified as a 3 star hotel.  It was quite the change from the cheap hotels and guesthouse that we’d been staying at.  It even had hot water consistently, something that was lacking during our trip.  Ah, the nice luxuries of life.

The End

So there you have it – a true motorbike adventure full of breakdowns, great mountain roads, rainy hours of riding – a truly spectacular trip.  Oh how this country has surprised me in its beauty, the friendliness of the people, and the rich history.  I would recommend that anyone who rides a motorbike take a tour through the country, learn a bit of their culture, and enjoy the scene away from the normal tourist path.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

It’s been one week since I landed in Vietnam. Vietnam is not a place I ever imagined that I’d visit in my lifetime.

I flew into Vietnam last Saturday.  On Sunday, Ruch and I met in Hanoi, the capital city in the North where we would be starting our 10 day tour.  We had planned it so that we’d have a few free days, so upon arrival, we found a tour that would bring us from Hanoi out to Ha Long Bay.

Ha Long Bay is made up of hundreds of limestone islands that rise out of the ocean.  These islands were formed over the course of time as the Earth shifted.  The trip we had booked was a 3 day, 2 night one that included the transportation to and from Ha Long Bay (a 4 hour drive from Hanoi), one night overstay on the ‘junk’, as the traditional Vietnamese boats are known as, one night on Cat Ba Island, all meals, and adventures such as trekking and kayaking.

I had seen the Bay on Top Gear, but it still took my breathe away in person.  After setting out from the harbour, we stopped by a cave where we were herded through with a tour guide to be dazzled by the neon lights that had been set up to emphasize the stalactites.  After this, we hopped back on the boats and were off to set off into the maze of limestones protruding from the water.  The limestones went on and on as far as the eyes could see.  We continued on for an hour until we set anchor just off the shore of Cat Ba island.  It was time to kayak.

Kayaking between and around the limestone islands is one of the best way to truly enjoy Ha Long Bay.  There’s something a bit surreal in slicing through the calm water and getting the best views of the limestone.  Several houseboats float around the Bay; t is said that several people are born and die on these boats.  Their lives are on the water, with many houses even having dogs for company (or food?).  We kayaked close to the houses to try to get a peak into these people’s lives.

The evening was spent on the boat, a calm and tranquil experience.  There were only 11 guests on the boat, a good size to get to know the others.  All meals were served family style, so interaction was necessary.  It was an intimate experience and we truly enjoyed it.

The next day, we woke early and set off to Cat Ba Island.  The first thing on the agenda was to trek up to the top of the Cat Ba National Park.  I laughed at the bottom of the hike, wondering if their idea of a trek was a concrete path, as it started at the bottom.  Oh, how wrong I was.  The hike consisted of extreme trekking through mudding trails and climbing over rocks with a huge incline.  When we finally made it to the top, there was the rustiest looking tower that allowed a view of the island – which we stupidly climbed.  We made it down safe, but man, it truly looked like it would fall at any moment.

The rest of the day was spent on rented scooters – only $3.40 for 3 hours!  We had a blast riding around the island with next to no gear.  I had only a Puma hoodie, jeans, Puma shoes, and a bucket helmet.  It was still fun, although interesting, when we got our bikes up to 90 km/hr.  The scooters were a great way to explore the island.

The next day, we jumped on the boat and headed back to Halong City, then to Hanoi.  It was truly an enjoyable and amazing trip.